Saints, sinners and … a cow: interpreting coins in ritual contexts

This paper explores the role of coins in medieval ritual contexts as evidenced by archaeological finds and written records. Coins were considered dangerous for the Christian soul as ‘devil’s dung’ (stercus diaboli) and their use was prohibited to friars by St Francis of Assisi. However, these same coins were deposited in saints’ graves (included that of St Francis!), were offered by pilgrims on the altars at the end of their journey, and were placed in the foundation of buildings in public ceremonies at the presence of the highest local authorities including clerics. The title of the paper is inspired by an extraordinary find in a small church in Lombardy (Caronno Pertusella): under the 15th century floor a sacrificed cow had been buried, kneeling, facing the main altar, with a coin in its mouth. Interpreting such finds is the task of a developing approach of the study of coins.